CHAPTER VII.
KATY MAKES A LARGE SALE.
Katy rose the next morning bright and early, and her heart was full ofhope. She felt that she had a great work to perform, and she was goingforth to do it, resolved that no obstacle should turn her back. Hermother had told her that she would be laughed at, and made fun of; thatthoughtless people would look down upon her with contempt, and thatwicked ones would insult her. She was, therefore, prepared for allthese trials, but she had braced herself up to meet them with courageand fortitude.
Her mother was sick, and they were actually in a suffering condition.What right had she to be proud in her poverty? She felt able to supporther mother, and she could find no excuse, if she wished to do so, fornot supporting her. It was her duty, therefore, to sell candy if shecould get money by it; and thus consideration strengthened her heart.
Katy had been to the public school and to the Sunday school until hermother was taken sick; and though she was only eleven years old, shehad a very good idea of her moral and religious duties. "Honor thyfather and thy mother," the commandment says; and she could think of nobetter way to obey the divine precept than to support her mother whenthere was no one else upon whom she could rely. Little by little theirearthly possessions had passed away. Mrs. Redburn had never learned howto save money; and when the day of adversity came, her funds were soonexhausted. She had no friends to whom she dared reveal her poverty, andwhen want came to the door, she was too proud to beg. Hoping for betterdays, she had sold most of her best dresses, and those of Katy. Thesmall sums raised by these sacrifices were soon used up; and when thedaughter could no longer make a decent appearance, she was required toshow herself much more than ever before. Katy did not repine at this,though her mother did, for their pride, as my young friends havediscovered, was of very different kinds.
Katy did wish she had a little better dress, and a little better bonnetfor her first attempt in the mercantile calling; but there was no helpfor it. She had mended her clothes as well as she could, and as theywere clean, she was pretty well satisfied with her personal appearance.Besides, people would not be half so apt to buy her candy if she werewell dressed, as if she were rather plainly clothed. In short, it wasall for the best.
After breakfast she prepared herself for the duties of the day. Herheart beat violently with anxiety and expectation, and while she wasplacing the candy on the tray, which she had previously covered withwhite paper to render her wares the more inviting, her mother gave hera long lecture on the trials and difficulties in her path, and theproper way to encounter them.
"Now, my dear child," said Mrs. Redburn, in conclusion "if any evilperson insults you, do not resent it, but run away as fast as you can."
"Shan't I say anything, mother?"
"Not a word."
"But if some naughty boy or girl, no bigger than I am myself, should besaucy to me, I think I can give them as good as they send."
"Don't do it, Katy."
"They have no business to insult me."
"That is very true; but when you use bad or violent language to them,you go down to their level."
"But if they begin it?"
"No matter, Katy; if they are unkind and wicked, it is no reason thatyou should be unkind and wicked. If you leave them without resentingtheir insults, the chances are that they will be ashamed of themselvesbefore you get out of sight. You need not be low and vile becauseothers are."
"I guess you are right, mother."
"You know what the Bible says: 'If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if hethirst, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fireon his head.'"
"I won't say a word, mother, whatever they say to me. I'll be as meekas Moses."
"I hope you will not be gone long," added Mrs. Redburn.
"I have thirty sticks of candy here. I don't think it will take me longto sell the whole of them. I shall be back by dinner time whether Isell them or not for you know I must go to Mrs. Gordon again to-day.Now, good-by, mother, and don't you worry about me, for I will doeverything just as though you were looking at me."
Katy closed the door behind her, and did not see the great tears thatslid down her mother's pale cheek as she departed. It was well she didnot, for it would have made her heart very sad to know all the sorrowand anxiety that distressed her mother as she saw her going out intothe crowded streets of a great city, to expose herself to a thousandtemptations. She wept long and bitterly in the solitude of her chamber,and perhaps her wounded pride caused many of her tears to flow. Butbetter thoughts came at last, and she took up the Bible which lay onthe bed, and read a few passages. Then she prayed to God that he wouldbe with Katy in the midst of the crowd, and guide her safely throughthe perils and temptations that would assail her. She tried to banishher foolish pride, when she considered her circumstances, she couldalmost believe it was a wicked pride; but when she endeavored to bereconciled to her lot, the thought of her father's fine house, and theservants that used to wait upon her, came up, and the struggle in herheart was very severe. In spite of all she had said to Katy about thedisgrace of selling candy in the streets, she could not but be thankfulthat the poor girl had none of her foolish pride. She read in the NewTestament about the lowly life which Jesus and the apostles led, andthen asked herself what right she had to be proud. And thus shestruggled through the long hours she remained alone--trying to behumble, trying to be good and true. Those who labor and struggle ashard as she did are always the better for it, even though they do notachieve a perfect triumph over the passions that torment them.
Katy blushed when she met the keeper of the grocery at the corner ofthe court, for in spite of all her fine talk about false pride, she hadnot entirely banished it from her heart. Some queer ideas came into herhead as she thought what she was doing. What would her grandfather, therich Liverpool merchant, say, should he meet her then? Of course hewould not know her; he would be ashamed of her. But she did not permitsuch reflections as these to influence her; and as soon as she wasconscious of the nature of her thoughts she banished them.
"I'm going to support my mother, and I have no right to be proud. If Imeet my grandfather, I should like to sell him twenty sticks of candy."
"Hallo, Katy! What are you going to do?" said a voice behind, which sherecognized as that of her friend Tommy Howard.
"I'm going to sell this candy," replied Katy.
"You're a spunky one; mother told me all about it. I should like twosticks," said Tommy, as he offered her the money.
"Take two, Tommy, and as many more as you like."
"Two is all I want;" and he placed the two cents on the tray.
"No, Tommy, I won't take your money," replied Katy, with a blush, forshe felt ashamed to take his money.
"That's no way to trade," laughed Tommy. "You won't make much, it youdo so. Keep the money and I will keep the candy."
"I can't keep it, Tommy."
"You must; if you don't take the money, I won't take the candy."
"I owe you two cents, Tommy. I will pay you now."
"No, you don't!"
"Please to take them; I shall feel very bad, if you don't."
Tommy Howard looked her in the eye a moment; he saw a tear there. Herpride was wounded, and he took the two cents from the tray, for he didnot wish to give her pain.
"Now, we are square, Tommy," said Katy, as her face brightened up again.
"Yes, we are, but I don't like it pretty well. One of these days, whenyou get out of this scrape, I will let you give me as much candy as youhave a mind to."
This was very obliging of Tommy; and when Katy understood his motive,she was sorry she had not permitted him to pay for the candy, for shesaw that he did not feel just right about the transaction. It was notexactly mercantile, but then the heart comes before commerce. As shewalked along, she could not help thinking that her natural generositymight seriously interfere with the profits of her enterprise. She had agreat many friends; and it became a knotty question for her to decidewhether, if she
met any of her school companions, she should give eachof them a stick of candy. She would like to do so very much indeed; butit was certain she could not afford to pursue such a liberal policy. Itwas a hard question, and, hoping she should not meet any of herschoolmates, she determined to refer it to her mother for settlement.
When she got into Washington Street, she felt that the time for actionhad come. Now was the time to sell candy; and yet she did not feel likeasking folks to buy her wares. The night before, as she lay thinkingabout her business, it had all seemed very easy to her; but now it wasquite a different thing. No one seemed to take any notice of her, or tofeel the least interest in the great mission she had undertaken. ButKaty was aware that it requires some effort in these days to sellgoods, and she must work; she must ask people to buy her candy.
There was a nice-looking gentleman, with a good-natured face, comingdown the street, and she resolved to make a beginning with him. Hecouldn't say much more than no to her, and she placed herself in aposition to accost him. But when he came near enough, her courage alloozed out, and she let him pass without speaking to him.
"What a fool I am!" exclaimed she to herself when he had passed. "Ishall never do anything in this way. There comes another gentleman wholooks as though he had a sweet tooth; at any rate, he seems asgood-natured as a pound of sugar. I will certainly try him."
Her heart pounded against her ribs as though it had been worked by aforty-horse engine--poor girl. It was a great undertaking to her; quiteas great as taking a six-story granite warehouse, piling it full ofmerchandise from cellar to attic, and announcing himself as ready forbusiness, to a child of a larger growth. Everything seemed to hang onthe issues of that tremendous moment.
"Buy some candy?" said she, in tremulous tones, her great, swellingheart almost choking her utterance.
"No, child. I don't want any," replied the gentleman, kindly, as heglanced at the tray on which the candy had been so invitingly spread.
"It is very nice," stammered Katy; "and perhaps your children at homewould like some, if you do not."
Bravo, Katy! That was very well done, though the gentleman was an oldbachelor, and could not appreciate the full force of your argument.
"Are you sure it is very nice?" asked the gentleman, with a benevolentsmile, when he had laughed heartily at Katy's jumping conclusion.
"I know it is," replied the little candy merchant, very positively.
"Then you may give me six sticks;" and he threw a fourpence on her tray.
Six sticks! Katy was astonished at the magnitude of her firstcommercial transaction. Visions of wealth, a fine house, and silkdresses for her mother and herself, danced through her excited brain,and she thought that her grandfather, the great Liverpool merchant,would not have been ashamed of her if he had been present to witnessthat magnificent operation.
"Have you any paper to wrap it up in?" asked the gentleman.
Here was an emergency for which Katy had not provided. Her grandestexpectations had not extended beyond the sale of one stick at a time,and she was not prepared for such a rush of trade. However, she toreoff a piece from one of the white sheets at the bottom of the tray,wrapped up the six sticks as nicely as she could, and handed them tothe gentleman, who then left her to find another customer.
Katy, elated by her first success, ran home as fast as she could toprocure some more white paper, of which she had a dozen sheets that hadbeen given her by a friend. It was in the back room, so that she didnot disturb her mother, choosing to astonish her with the whole storyof her success at noon.